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The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon by Sei Shōnagon
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really liked it
bookshelves: japan, journal
Read 3 times. Last read March 6, 2015 to March 23, 2015.

Impressively I found this translated book by Dr Ivan Morris interestingly enjoyable, informative and more in detail than the one by Dr Arthur Waley in the same title (Tuttle, 2011) since it totally comprises 185 topics followed by each translated text. Unfortunately, this book is not the complete translation because you have to read it in another one by another publisher, that is, Oxford University Press and Columbia University Press, 1967 (p. 16). In the meantime, I think we should be content with this fine rendering and these three extracts presented here are for you to try his English version:

1. In Spring It Is the Dawn
In Spring it is the dawn that is most beautiful. As the light creeps over the hills, their outlines are dyed a faint read and wisps of purplish cloud trail over them.
In summer the nights. Not only when the moon shines, but on dark nights too, as the fireflies flit to and fro, and even when it rains, how beautiful it is!
� (p. 21)

13. Depressing Things
A dog howling in the daytime. A wickerwork fish-net in spring. A res plum-blossom dress in the Third or Fourth Months. A lying-in room when the baby has died. A cold, empty brazier. An ox-driver who hates his oxen. A scholar whose wife has one girl child after another.
One has gone to a friend’s house to avoid an unlucky direction, but nothing is done to entertain one; if this should happen at the time of a Seasonal Change, it is still more depressing.
� (p. 40)

29. Elegant Things
A white coat worn over a violet waistcoat.
Duck eggs.
Shaved ice mixed with liana syrup and put it in a new silver bowl.
A rosary of rock crystal.
Wistaria blossoms. Plum blossoms covered with snow.
A pretty child eating strawberries. (p. 69)
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Reading Progress

May 26, 2014 – Shelved as: to-read (Hardcover Edition)
May 26, 2014 – Shelved (Hardcover Edition)
May 26, 2014 – Shelved as: japan (Hardcover Edition)
Started Reading (Hardcover Edition)
July 26, 2014 – Finished Reading (Hardcover Edition)
February 14, 2015 – Shelved as: to-read
February 14, 2015 – Shelved
February 14, 2015 – Shelved as: japan
February 14, 2015 – Shelved as: journal (Hardcover Edition)
February 14, 2015 – Shelved as: journal
March 6, 2015 – Started Reading
March 6, 2015 –
page 63
15.33% "I cannot bear men who believe that women serving in the Palace are bound to be frivolous and wicked. Yet I suppose their prejudice is understandable. After all, women at Court do not spend their time hiding modestly behind fans and screens, but walk about, looking openly at people they chance to meet. Yes, they see everyone face to face, not only ladies-in-waiting, like themselves, ... (p. 39)"
March 8, 2015 –
page 73
17.76% "When I visited Bodai Temple to hear the Eight Lessons for Confirmation, I received this message from a friend: 'Please come back soon. Things are very dreary here without you.' I wrote my reply on a lotus petal:
Though you bid me come,
How can I leave these dew-wet lotus leaves
And return to a world so full of grief?
I had been truly moved by the ceremony and felt that I could remain forever ... (p. 55)"
March 14, 2015 –
page 98
23.84% "Early one morning in that month, when Lady Shikibu and I had been sleeping in the outer part of a room in the Empress's Office, the sliding-door was pushed open and the Emperor and Empress entered. We were thrown into utter confusion and did not know what to do with ourselves, which greatly amused Their Majesties. Hastily we threw on our Chinese jackets, ... and everything else in a great pile. ... (p. 75)"
March 15, 2015 –
page 113
27.49% "Small children and babies ought to be plump. So ought provincial governors and others who have gone ahead in the world; for, if they are lean and desiccated, one suspects them of being ill-tempered.
...
Nothing can be worse than allowing the driver of one's ox-carriage to be poorly dressed. It does not matter too much if the other attendants are shabby, since they can remain at the rear of the carriage; ...(p. 78)"
March 16, 2015 –
page 126
30.66% "I need hardly say how splendid I find a learned Doctor of Literature. He may be of lowly appearance, and of course he is of low rank; but the world at large regards him as an impressive figure. As an Imperial Tutor, he is consulted about all sorts of special matters, and he is free to approach the most eminent members of the Emperor's family. ... (p. 111)"
March 18, 2015 –
page 173
42.09% "The man from the Office of Grounds urged me to hurry; and I realized that if, in addition to bungling my reply, I was slow about it, I should really disgrace myself. 'It can't be helped.' I thought and, trembling with emotion, wrote the following lines:
As though pretending to be blooms
The snow flakes scatter in the wintry sky.
I handed my poem to the messenger and anxiously wondered how Kinto ... (p. 135)"
March 23, 2015 – Finished Reading
January 3, 2017 – Shelved as: to-read
January 3, 2017 – Shelved as: to-read
January 4, 2017 – Shelved as: to-read (Other Paperback Edition)
January 4, 2017 – Shelved (Other Paperback Edition)
January 4, 2017 – Shelved as: journal (Other Paperback Edition)
January 4, 2017 – Shelved as: japan (Other Paperback Edition)
Started Reading (Other Paperback Edition)
February 5, 2017 – Finished Reading (Other Paperback Edition)
June 5, 2019 – Shelved as: favorites (Other Paperback Edition)
June 5, 2019 – Shelved as: favorites (Other Paperback Edition)

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